


A Familiar Face

by ProbablyNotASquirrel



Series: Post-Sevastopol [1]
Category: Alien: Isolation (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Reunion, Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 14:43:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4352864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProbablyNotASquirrel/pseuds/ProbablyNotASquirrel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ripley has survived Sevastopol but things still look rather bleak, until she sees a familiar face in the halls of the research station she's confined to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Familiar Face

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first attempt at writing fan fiction, so I apologize if this is painful to read. I haven't written an actual story since high school and my college courses attempted to beat the fluffy writing out of me. Since there are so few fics on this pairing out there I decided to give this a shot, even though I am not confident in my writing. Thank you so much for reading! :)

"What was that, sweetheart?" Axel sneered, turning to face her. Ripley paused, unsure of how to respond. She could not remember what she had just said to him. Before she could come up with a quip to wipe that shit-eating smirk off his face, blood erupted from his chest as a spiny tail ripped through it. Ripley watched in horror as the expression on his face went from shocked to lifeless, his corpse pulled up into a vent by the unseen creature.

Her eyes shot open and she sat up in her bed, shaking and covered in sweat. It had been almost a month since she had escaped from Sevastopol, yet the creature still tormented her every night. Ripley often had to relive the deaths of those lost.

Samuels. His death haunted her more than the others. In her spare time (when she wasn't being harassed by the Weyland-Yutani officials), Ripley wondered why that was. It was partially due to the fact that he died saving her. The rest of her guilt could be because of the way she initially treated Samuels. She was cold and cruel to him when she met him, but before he sacrificed himself, he acted as though she treated him with more respect and kindness than anyone ever had. She hated to think how every other human had treated him.

"Fuck this," Ripley said to herself as she got up from her bed. She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep tonight and she wasn’t one to just sit around and sulk.

Ripley made went to the bathroom sink and splashed some cool water on her face. She examined herself in the mirror. Dark circles sat under her eyes and her ponytail was a mess. _Looking like shit, as always_. She pulled the ponytail out and readjusted it, which improved her appearance slightly. Wide awake with nothing to do, Ripley decided to get some coffee. After pulling on the olive-green coveralls the company gave her, she left her quarters and headed for the mess hall.

After rescuing her, Weyland-Yutani had taken Ripley to their closest research station. During her first week there, she hadn't been allowed to leave her quarters unless escorted by an official because of "security reasons". No one had come for her unless it was for one of their numerous debriefings. They had her retell the same events over and over again, even though the story never changed. Ripley was unsure if it was because they didn't believe her or if it was because they were far too interested in the creatures she told them about. She wasn't sure which option was worse.

Ripley had finally been allowed to roam the station freely (but not leave the station, they made that very clear) after the second week, but she still kept mostly to herself. On her trip to the mess, she encountered few others and those she did come across did not bother her. She got her coffee without incident and began the trip back to her quarters when she noticed a group of men standing further down the hall. This didn't strike her as interesting until one of the men turned, revealing his face.

She froze. It was Samuels.

_No. No. Not Samuels. It's just another android that happens to be the same fucking model as Samuels. Samuels is gone. He’s dead. You watched him die and you left him._

Even after she told herself that, she still felt uneasy. Fake Samuels had all of the physical characteristics of the real Samuels, the same thick brown hair, the same brown eyes, and the same tall stature and wiry build as Samuels. His clothing was not the same as Samuels, fake Samuels was wearing olive green coveralls that were very similar to her own. When he began speaking with one of the men in the group, her stomach did an unpleasant turn; he had the same smooth and soothing voice as Samuels. With that, Ripley turned around, opting for the long way back to her quarters so that she could avoid walking by fake Samuels.

"Ripley?" she heard from behind her. Her heart skipped and she stopped walking but she didn’t turn around. The voice sounded too familiar.

"Amanda?" the voice persisted. Ripley turned around.

Fake Samuels was looking at her and it was obvious that he was the one that had called to her. He wore the same wide-eyed concerned look that the real Samuels had often directed at her. Maybe…maybe he wasn't a fake.

"Samuels? Is that really you?" Ripley asked, her voice cracking ever so slightly. She was trying not to get too hopeful, afraid that this was some sick dream.

"It's me, Amanda," he said gently and with such sincerity that Ripley believed him. Samuels, the real Samuels, _her_ Samuels, started towards her.

Amanda snapped out of the odd trance she was in and half ran to Samuels, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder. If he was surprised by this, he didn't show it, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on the side of her head.

It was wonderful to be held by Samuels, so warm and solid and _alive_. It lasted longer than was probably appropriate for the hallways of a research station but neither one of them made any attempt to break the embrace. "It's good to see you," Samuels said in a voice so soft that it was almost a whisper. She lost the final bits of composure she had, letting out a choked sob. "Shhhhh. It's alright Amanda," soothed Samuels, hugging her a little tighter.

Ripley took a deep breath, trying to steady herself before attempting to speak. "It is really good to see you too. I thought you were dead," then she came to a horrific realization, "I-I abandoned you.”

He pulled away from her without fully releasing her so that she had to look at him. "You didn’t know, Amanda. How could you? I wasn't even sure what interfacing with APOLLO would do to me,” he paused and glanced around them before continuing. “Let's go somewhere else to talk."

With that, Ripley looked around only to realize that they had gathered a small audience. _I'm sure I look absolutely pathetic like some fucking love sick teenager_. Then she noticed the coffee she dropped and spilled everywhere in her effort to embrace Samuels. _That’s really fucking fantastic._ The two had still failed to separate completely. "We can go to my quarters,” Ripley offered,” but I should probably clean up this mess first.”

"Leave it," replied Samuels.

"What?" Ripley wasn’t sure if she heard him correctly. She was used to Samuels being incredibly proper.

"I told you to leave it," he now wore a mischievous smirk on his face. "Let's leave it to our very devoted audience. It's the least they can do after gawking at us for so long."

Ripley laughed, the first time she had genuinely laughed since her escape. "I have to admit, I'm impressed by your suggestion and I’m disappointed that I didn’t think of it first.” He smiled brightly at her. Ripley couldn't look away; his smile was stunning and infectious. She knew she was probably grinning like an idiot back at him and all of those assholes were still staring at them. _This shit has to stop, what the hell has gotten into me?_ "Alright, we will go to my lovely abode," her last words dripping with sarcasm.

He released her and offered her his arm. She took it and led him towards her quarters. Ripley had considered telling everyone in their audience to go fuck themselves since they had still not dispersed, but she decided against it and settled for shooting them with her worst glare as she passed by them.

* * *

 

The quarters assigned to her by the company were much more spacious than those she had ever resided in on the ships she served. It had a full sized bed, a desk, small kitchen area, couch and coffee table, as well as its own bathroom.

Ripley situated herself on the couch and Samuels followed, sitting next to her. She turned towards Samuels, unsure of where to start. He was looking at her with such patience and kindness that it made her feel ill. After the way she had abandoned him on Sevastapol, she did not deserve any of his kindness. "I am so fucking sorry Samuels," she began.

"Amanda stop," Samuels interrupted placing his hand on her arm to try and soothe her.

Ripley persisted, "Please just let me finish, I've wanted to say these things since I got out of that shit hole.” She paused, waiting to see if Samuels would interrupt her again. When he didn't, she continued, "When we met, I was awful to you. You came to me with the chance to finally find out what happened to my mom." Ripley’s throat felt as if it tightened a little but she continued on anyway. "I responded to your very kind offer by being a complete bitch. Then you saved me on several occasions, without any thanks from me, only to sacrifice yourself to save my sorry ass again. Then I just fucking leave you on tha-that…"

The gentle squeeze of her arm helped to ground her again. "Amanda," Samuels said softly, "you didn't know- you couldn't have known. Even after the company recovered me, it took them weeks to make the repairs to get me online again. If you had brought me with you, I would have been dead weight. It would have been comparable to you dragging around a corpse. You wouldn't have made it out, Amanda, I wanted you to get out of there, that's why I took those actions, to improve your chances of getting out alive."

“But I don’t understand, why were you so concerned with getting me out of there?” Ripley was confused. She understood that he was probably programmed to preserve human life as much as possible but she was not the only person on Sevastopol. There were many other lives that needed saving.

“I...I…” Samuels stuttered, he actually stuttered. Ripley didn’t know that it was possible for a synthetic to do that unintentionally. She also didn’t think that a synthetic could become flustered, but that is exactly what Samuels appeared to be. He looked very uncomfortable, skin a little flushed with droplets of sweat forming on his forehead. The sight would have been endearing had the topic not been something so serious. _No_ , she changed her mind, _it was still endearing_. Ripley tried to hide the smirk she felt forming on her face. Unfortunately, Samuels noticed the smirk and now looked absolutely mortified, making the situation even more humorous. “What’s so funny?”

Ripley let out a laugh, “Calm down Samuels, there is no need to get your panties in a wad. It’s just me that you’re talking to.”

Samuels still hadn’t relaxed. “While I do appreciate that sentiment, it still doesn’t explain what you found to be so funny in the first place.”

Her smile grew, “I was just thinking about how adorable you look when you’re flustered.” He turned bright red. She didn't know synthetics could blush, or get embarrassed at all for that matter.

"I-uh thank you? I suppose that is a compliment," he stammered.

His embarrassment almost made Ripley regret her words, almost. "I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I really did mean it as a compliment, not an insult.”

The bright red on Samuels face lightened considerably. "You didn’t make me uncomfortable; I am just... not accustomed to receiving compliments. You never have to worry about making me uncomfortable," he said sincerely.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before resuming their conversation. "So you've been here the entire time I have, but I haven't seen you?” asked Ripley. Samuels gave a nod in response. “Those company bastards didn't even tell me you were alive," she spat out, feeling angry.

"I have been here just as long as you have," Samuels began, "but I have not been functional for the entire duration. As I mentioned before, it took them two weeks to make the repairs to even get me online. After I was fully functional, they did not let me leave confinement until just a few days ago. I imagine they gave you a very similar debriefing." He paused for a moment, looking solemn. "I did ask them about you, Amanda, and they informed me that you were safe and alive in one of their facilities. However, they failed to tell me you were at this facility," he looked apologetic.

"Were they trying to keep us apart on purpose?" Ripley questioned.

Samuels shook his head, "I doubt it, they had to know we would come across each other eventually, this station is a rather small." He smiled, "I am glad I found you though."

She smiled back at him, "I'm glad you found me too." A few moments passed with them smiling at each other. Ripley was the first to break the silence, "So you're alright though? I mean you look fine, but are all of your systems intact?"

He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze; it could be easy to believe that he was human. "I am fine, they managed to repair everything. I am just not as efficient as I used to be, my processing time is now a little slower. It is likely that they will retire me from my previous position."

This information worried Ripley, "Exactly how much slower?"

The expression on his face turned sheepish.

"Well..."

"Well what?" Ripley pressed, still feeling concerned.

"My processing time has been slowed by a few nanoseconds," finished Samuels, still looking sheepish.

Ripley burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Nanoseconds..." she tried to catch her breath, "They're going to retire you over fucking nanoseconds?!"

Samuels looked as though he was holding back his own laughter, "I am glad you find this to be amusing, I certainly do not. I actually feel rather inadequate now." He punctuated his last word with an exaggerated frown.  

This resulted in another bout of laughter from Ripley. When she finally stopped laughing she reassured Samuels, "Well if it's any consolation, you're still my favorite synthetic- slow speed and all."

A blinding smile spread across his face, "If that's true, then I suppose not all is lost." His smile faded, but his gaze remained warm and trained on Ripley. The intensity of his gaze was new to her; no one had ever looked at her like that before. It gave her a weird yet pleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach.

Samuels changed the course of their conversation, "I'm sure you aren't used to having such a large space to yourself, given your time on ships."

"No not at all. I'm used to not having enough privacy to piss alone, now I've got an entire fucking palace to myself," Ripley replied, stretching her limbs out for effect.

Samuels laughed, "I almost forgot about how great of a wordsmith you are."

"I'm sorry if my extensive and very colorful vocabulary is too much for your slow processor to handle," she jabbed.

"Oh," Samuels grabbed his chest dramatically in mock pain, "that hurt me deeply, Amanda."

"Shut the fuck up Samuels," she said lightheartedly as she snuggled in closer to Samuels, laying her head on his chest. He responded by slipping his arm around her, as if it was the most natural thing ever. "God I missed you," Ripley admitted.

"I missed you too," he said softly.

The atmosphere felt a little heavy after that exchange, so Ripley tried to lighten the tone of their conversation. “Did they give you your own quarters as well?”

Samuels hesitated and she wondered briefly if that had anything to do with the delay he mentioned earlier. “Not exactly,” he avoided making eye contact with her as he spoke.

When he didn’t elaborate, Ripley pressed, “Samuels, where are you staying?”

He sighed, “They did not give me a room assignment ” When he saw the horrified look on Ripley’s face, he quickly added, “I honestly don’t mind at all, I don't have many belongings of my own.”

“You don't have a place to call your own?” Ripley hated the thought of Samuels wandering around the station aimlessly. When he didn’t respond or even look at her, Ripley grabbed his chin and turned his head so that he had to look at her. Once he finally made eye contact with her, she shot him one of her glares.

Samuels caved, “No I don't.”

“That's bullshit.” She paused, attempting to think of a solution. “You can just stay with me,” Ripley offered, “this place is much more than I would ever need.” Samuels had an expression on his face that she couldn’t quite read. She began to worry that she had offended him in some way. She backpedaled, “I mean if you really are happy with the way things are, you don’t have to stay with me. The decision is completely yours.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” He asked tentatively.

Ripley grinned, happy that he was considering her offer, “Of course I don’t mind, I would actually enjoy your company.”

“Alright then, I’ll stay with you,” Samuels decided. “Aren’t you a little worried though?”

Ripley was baffled. “Worried about what?”

“That people will talk,” he replied in a serious tone. “Cohabitation before marriage- it’s rather risqué.” His serious expression faltered with the last word and a smirk appeared on his lips.

She playfully punched his arm in response, “Careful, or I’ll give them something else to talk about.”

A mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes. He lowered his voice a fraction, “Is that a threat or a promise, Amanda?”

To say that the last comment disarmed Ripley would have been an enormous understatement; she sat there with her mouth agape. Samuels had always been so proper and professional aboard the Torrens and Sevastapol, this playful side he kept showing tonight was completely new to her. _Did that sound suggestive or am I just losing my shit?_ “You’ll have to figure that out for yourself,” she finally managed to say. He chuckled in response and the knot that had formed in her chest loosened.

They stayed like that for some time, having the kinds of conversations they hadn't been able to have until now. Without the threat of crazed Working Joes and weird-ass aliens tormenting them, Ripley found that she enjoyed spending time with Samuels even more so than she originally thought.

Ripley’s eyes started to feel heavy, “I’m afraid I will have to get to bed soon, otherwise you’re going to be stuck with being my pillow tonight.”

“That doesn’t sound like a terrible burden to me,” Samuels said. Ripley lifted her head up to look at him. “I am being completely serious, would it help you sleep?”

Ripley frowned, “How do you know that I haven’t been sleeping?”

“Just an observation,” Samuels ran a gentle thumb under her eye. _Right. I have dark circles that would make a raccoon jealous._

“It might help, nothing else has.” She laid her head back onto his chest. “You sure you don’t mind?”

Samuels started rubbing his thumb in small circle on her arm, “Not at all. Sleep well, Amanda.”

Ripley was already half asleep. “Thank you.”

For the first time in a very long time, Ripley felt as though everything was going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again for reading! :) 
> 
> If you like the Ripley/Samuels pairing, you should check out Rosy-Station at http://rosy-station.tumblr.com/ she has AWESOME Alien: Isolation art, she also takes requests :). Also, come say hi to me on Tumblr at http://probablynotasquirrel.tumblr.com/ I would love to hear from all of you! :)


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